'I miss her already': Brooke Shields shares EMOTIONAL post after daughter Rowan leaves for college
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Endless Love' actress Brooke Shields shared an emotional Instagram video on Thursday, August 18, in which she said she had just waved goodbye to her daughter Rowan, 19, as she left for Wake Forest University for her sophomore year of college.
Shields said it's "so hard" to say goodbye, even when it's necessary. She and her husband Chris Henchy share daughters Rowan and Grier, who is 16 years old.
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"So, I wave my daughter goodbye again," the 57-year-old actress said, teary-eyed. "I thought it would be easier the second time. She’s already been away all summer. I’m not making the drive with her, she’s driving with her dad, but she’s taking my car, which is my graduation present car, so she’s going to be driving that. It was just too painful. I don’t think I can do the driving away from campus again. So, if anybody else is going through this, we’re all in this together."
"I miss her already. Our babies,” she said. "This is what you want. You raise them, so that they leave you."
In the caption of her video, she wrote, "Turns out second time is NOT the charm when it comes to your baby going off to college. Sophomore year, here she comes. I’ll be crying if you need me…"
There were lots of sympathetic parents in Shields' comments section, who sympathized with her situation. "Thank you so much for being you," one person wrote. "This week, my girl and I are moving. Even though I understand that she needs to expand her horizons—especially after a two-year online high school program—I'm still very sad," said another. Another user said, "I understand. We teach them to be great, we give them wings, and then they have the gall to take flight! An unpleasant day. Simply let it out."
Shields still lives with her daughter, but her emotions may be connected to what is known as "empty nest syndrome." According to clinical psychologist Monica Vermani, "the situation is always difficult for parents." "We raise these children who were dependent on us for survival, and now they want to be their own people without our help. So cutting the cord is also about us, working on our own anxiety and having faith that we've given our children the tools, the skills, and the values they need to be good people who contribute to society and live their own lives. As parents, we must never forget that our children are in our care so that we can equip them with the knowledge and abilities necessary to be morally upright people," Vermani said.
'The Blue Lagoon' actress revealed last year that dropping Rowan off at school was especially difficult—but also rewarding.
"My unique and extraordinary baby girl spreading her wings," she wrote in an Instagram post at the time. "I love you so. We are so proud of you. This was the saddest drive away from anywhere I’ve ever had to make. But my baby is BEGINNING one of the most important adventures of her life to date…NOW!," she went on to add.